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Photo of Notah Begay III |
Notah Begay III is an American golfer who was born on September 14, 1972 and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He graduated from high school at Albuquerque Academy and from Stanford University, where he was a 3-time All-American, turning professional in 1995. He placed tenth on the Nike Tour money list in 1998 to win a place on the PGA Tour for 1999. He had a pair of wins in each of his first two seasons on the Tour. Since then he has been plagued by back trouble which has put his future as a professional golfer in doubt. In 2005, he played under a "Major Medical Exemption" with little success. In 2006, he is playing on the Nationwide Tour. He is the only full-blooded American Indian (Navajo) tour golfer in the history of the game. At the end of 2006 he joined the qualifying school for the European Tour. He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.
Indian Country Initiative
Notah has joined forces with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America to encourage today's youth to become Club members. The Boys and Girls Club of America has promoted the development of clubs in American Indian and Alaskan Native communities for the past several years. To date, this effort to promote positive alternatives for Native youth, Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) has promoted development of Boys and Girls Clubs in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. BGCA has made a strong commitment to assisting local communities in increasing the number of Clubs serving Native American youth. To date, this effort has helped increase the number of Clubs in Indian Country from 12 in 1996 to 184 today. These Boys and Girls Clubs serve youth in 23 states from various tribal and Native Alaskan communities.
Albuquerque Community Foundation
The Albuquerque Community Foundation (ACF) is a partnership of donors, nonprofit organizations, and the community working together to find solutions to pressing community needs. Because Notah believes that a good education provides the foundation for success in life, Notah partnered with the Albuquerque Community Foundation and started the Notah Begay III Scholarship Fund in 1999. Notah has distributed 18 scholarships to date and looks forward to increasing the number of available scholarships in the coming years. In fact, Notah recently handed out the scholarships for the 2003 recipients.
Quotation
"But even from high school, when people have asked me to participate in an event or talk to kids, I remember I think one of the best things -- the most fun things I have ever did was three years ago I went and read to a group of kindergartners. That was fun. They had no idea who I was. But they just appreciated someone taking the time out to come and read to them, read a story, and I got a lot out of that."
Source
1. Notah's Official Website
2. Notah Begay III Fansite - Unofficial Site featuring Sites and Info
3. Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
